Shoes, Glorious Shoes!

When Michael and I decided to buy a house, our biggest decision was whether we should purchase old or new. We loved the charm and location of older homes in Tulsa, but we loved the big kitchens, big bathrooms, and very big closets in the new homes even more. For us, the decision turned out to be an easy one. Our master closet is a pretty decent size but what sold it for me was the shoe shelves. As soon as I saw them my heart (and feet) melted. Unfortunately, what I saw as "shoe shelves," Michael saw as "sweater/shirt shelves." And perhaps both of us were right, but I firmly believed I was MORE right.

I claimed one shelf for my shoes, one for my tanks, and let him have the others for his sweaters. I didn't throw a fit, but I so badly wanted to have a Carrie Bradshaw closet. One day. One day...

A small victory occurred this weekend. I was granted another shelf. I am (quite literally) moving up the ladder. My goal is to have conquered all 5 shelves by 2011. Have you ever played the game Risk? Well it is taking place in the Haynes household, but instead of territories they are shelves. And I am slowly and stealthily taking over. World domination.




In other shoe news, I broke down and bought new running shoes today. Different websites argue how many miles you can put on them before you need new ones and I'm going to say these bad boys have seen about 600 miles. Waaaay too many. The thing is, these aren't just any shoes. They're the shoes I wore while running Riverside Drive many, many times preparing for my first half marathon. And they're the ones I had on when I crossed that finish line. I wore them when we hiked around Maui and I wore them while moving into our first house. If a pair of shoes could talk, these would have so much to say. So as girly as this sounds, they aren't JUST shoes. They're a footprint (harhar) in the long and often arduous journey I like to call life.

Michael and I went to Fleet Feet and I found the same pair. My pair. Except for one thing. They were pink. PINK, people. Most of you know that pink is (by far) my least favorite color. To say my shoulders sank is an understatement. I actually looked at other shoes to see if I could find a pair sans pink when one of the employees asked if she could help. I pointed to the shoes and asked if she had that brand/style in any color other than pink. I apologized for my ridiculous behavior and she excused herself to the back room. She returned with 6 different pairs of shoes, including the pink ones. I tried a few but they felt so foreign. And not "sweet, sweet wine in Italy" foreign but "on the bus without a bus pass and no one speaks your language" foreign. I took them off as fast as possible. I finally tried on the pink shoes and good Lord I immediately knew what silly Cinderella felt like. Perfect. Exactly as they should be. I looked down and decided the pink could be kind of cute. Maybe I NEED a little pink in my life. I took them off, they rang them up, and I walked out with my first pair of pink running shoes. Who knows, maybe next time I buy a pair I'll even request that crazy color. But for now, I'm just excited to see what awesome memories I'll make while wearing them.